Logan raced through the halls under the school towards the X-Men's meeting chamber. Next to him appeared Kitty from the wall as they turned the last corner before rushing through the doorway. The entire X-Men crew was there in full uniform and they turned towards the doorway as they entered.
"Have you found her?" Logan growled fiercely.
"We believe she's in a camp just outside of Las Vegas." Professor Charles Xavier replied, rubbing his temples slowly.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"LOGAN!" Xavier snapped as the Wolverine turned to leave. "We can't just go rushing in there. This camp is heavily guarded and under surveillance 24/7. There is nothing for miles around!"
"Well we can't just sit here! She could be de-"
"She's still alive!" Kitty cried, causing everyone's attention to turn towards her. "I've hacked into the security cameras and found Rogue's room. She's seems out of it and pretty dirty but otherwise she's alive."
Logan sighed in relief as Xavier smiled softly towards Kitty. He turned back to the group. "Cyclops, get the Blackbird ready and prepare our Junior Team. Jean and Storm get as much intel as you can on that security system, Kitty should be able to help you with that. Logan…" he paused as people started rushing out of the room. "breathe, she will be fine. We are going to bring her home."
Logan breathed deeply, his shoulders visibly slumping, "I sure hope so Chuck. She's all I've got left."
Marie screamed as the doctors' filleted another piece of skin from her arm before laying the tools aside and wrapping her arm in gauze. They hadn't given her any pain pills or anesthesia before beginning their cutting, deeming it too expensive to waste on a living corpse. The only thing they did do was hook up an IV with a yellowish liquid inside. The suppression collar around her neck chafed against the skin there and she could only find it ironic that the first time she was able to touch she wanted to be clothed and as far away from people as she could.
"Thank you for your donation to our cause." The head doctor said mechanically.
Breathing in and out deeply so she wouldn't pass out from the pain, Marie rose her head, "And what cause is that?" she spat. The doctors and nurses around her paused for a moment before resuming their work.
"Why the total destruction and annihilation of your entire race." He chuckled softly sending shivers down Marie's spine. "Mutant kind is a disease upon our world and we are here to eradicate it by using this deadly skin of yours."
Suddenly Marie began to feel dizzy and tried to shake it off, knowing it was from the pain. She glared at the doctor as he continued.
"You see the sentinials we are creating just need something a little extra. Sure they can adapt to their surroundings thanks to your little blue friend…" Marie rolled her eyes at the reference to Mystique but still felt bad that the woman was dead, "but they can only adapt to mutations that we know of. And of course new mutations are being born every day, some that we could not even imagine are manifesting, and therefore your skin will be the answer to our problems!"
Marie's eyes widened in horror, and the doctors and nurses chuckled at her horrified look. "Oh yes my dear," suddenly Marie's heart started pounding and it felt as if something heavy was sitting on her chest. "your skin is going to suck up those mutations and use them against your friends. Effectively obliterating all of the mutants on this planet!"
The doctors laughed raucously as Marie began gasping for breath.
"Unfortunately my dear, you won't be alive long enough to see the end of it all!" he laughed loudly over the pounding of her heart. She glanced around terrified as her lungs seemed to be constricting on her and stopped on the IV on her arm. Following the tube up to the bag she read the name her eyes rolling back into her head as her lungs constricted tightly and her heart pounded out its last beats. Aconite.
Logan roared as he cut down another two security guards in the facility they had infiltrated. He paused only long enough to see they were dead before running down the hall where her scent permeated the most. He rounded the corner to see most of his comrades had made it before him and all looked over with sad and somber eyes as he paused. Fear clenched his heart as he walked towards them and turned into the white room. His eyes misted as he felt his heart tear itself into pieces and he sunk to his knees beside the hospital bed she had been strapped to.
"Marie," he whispered mournfully as he gazed upon her battered and bruised body.
Her skin was pale and her lips had already started to take on the bluish hue of death. The gauze around her arms was completely soaked through with blood that had spilled over onto the bed sheet. An IV was still hooked up to her arm and he gently removed it and glanced back towards her face. A small metal collar was wrapped around her throat, a suppression collar he realized as he quickly cut it off with one of his claws. He slipped his hand across her cheek, cradling her head as he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. A high-pitched whine rumbled from his chest as the tears in his eyes dripped across her cheeks and slid into her hair. "Marie." He whimpered.
He felt as the rest of the X-Men silently left the area, creating a perimeter so he could mourn for her in peace. He pulled back to look at her face and brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I couldn't keep my promise." He bit out as he nuzzled his lips against her neck, smelling her one last time. "I couldn't protect you." He murmured kissing a trail across her skin to her lips. A kiss he couldn't give her when she was alive. A kiss that would haunt him for the rest of his life. "I lov-" he began when a familiar pull crawled across his skin.
Grinning through the pain, he kissed her harder and grabbed her face with his hands, increasing the skin contact. "That's right Marie, take it." He murmured as his life force was pulled into her body. He felt his body began to seize and pushed past it until he heard her draw a breath. He jerked back, falling to his knees as he tried to keep conscious. "Help!" he cried as the room swam in front of him and watched as Kitty and Colossus ran in.
"Logan?" Kitty cried and gasped as Marie groaned on the bed.
"Rogue!" Colossus shouted causing the rest of the X-Men to return.
With great difficulty, Logan stood and moved over to her side, running his fingers through her hair to cup her head. "Marie?" he murmured and waited.
A fluttering of her lashes and then her bright green eyes were staring up at him with confusion, pain, and love. She smiled softly at him as she raised a hand to cup his face, her mutation off. "Logan," she whispered her eyes shining with happy tears as she pulled him down for a kiss.